Is there any such thing as a bad sounding DAC these days?

Current Bifrost is awesome for the price...when was original released?

@njcardave 

I’ve sort of been looking at replacing my Denafrips Pontus ll and the La Scala is on my list, but with no dealer anywhere near me, I’ll probably have rely on the magazines, YouTube and Agon for reviews. I have definitely been smitten with the R2R sound, so Would you message me at tell me your thoughts on your La Scala?  Thanks in advance.

@jl35 

 Think the original Bifrost Multibit DAC came out in 2018 or 2019, I think.

I bought a SMSL DO100 Pro based on a recommendation on some Reddit forum. It sounds like crap. I think it depends on your system and what you’re used to. I really wanted it to sound good and expected it to, but sadly the placebo effect wasn’t enough to overcome what my ears told me.

Was it “bad”? I think so. Did it literally damage my speakers or something? No, just an edginess and high frequency grain that made the music unenjoyable. I was just using my desktop system, a set of Focal Chorus 706 (which honestly pretty warm, I couldn’t even imagine using it with something more detailed and revealing).

I think you would need to define “bad” to have any reasonable chance at useful answers here. I’m kind of defining it as “I don’t think it sounds any better than what’s in my phone”, which may not mean “bad” per se, but I expected more for something that has an additional cost and is presumably meant to be plugged into a home stereo system.

Referencing my comment above. For comparison I was using a PS Audio Sprout 100. The DAC in that is much much better. On my main system I was using PS Audio Digital Link III, then a Chord Hugo 2, now a Yggdrasil. And yes each change made a clear difference. Massive gulf between Digital Link III and Huge 2, substantial but not earth shattering between Hugo 2 and Yggy. Now with the Yggy I feel like I’m set for a good long while. Time to look at amps.